PANERAI Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Bronzo PAM671

The second time of a Luminor Bronzo, now with a Blue dial

08 October 2017 | Panerai , Watch Reviews , SIHH 2017

It is undeniable that, among all the watches whose case is made of bronze, the PANERAI Luminor Submersible 1950 Bronze 3 Days would lie at the top of the list. The origins of this brand from Florence, its history and the bond it has with our Navy make it the most authoritative luxury watch among all the bronze models available on the market. A highly successful experience that was originally born as a limited series with references 382 and 507 and that achieved an unthinkable market value that can only be compared (as far as I can remember) to that of the models moulded around the Minerva caliber (the most emblematic case would be that of the Mare Nostrum) now retailing at more than 30k euro a piece.

Bronze is a copper and tin alloy that combines a particular corrosion resistance with the ability to react to atmospheric agents and create a special patina that represents the distinctive element of a bronze watch and that, in the case of the PANERAI Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Bronze, is even stronger than that you can see on similar models from other competitors. After launching the references with a green dial (time-only and power-reserve), this year, PANERAI released the PANERAI Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Bronze PAM671; 1,000 additional specimens of a watch that is now almost impossible to find on the market and if you manage to find one, you will quickly realize that its price positioning is well-above the 20k-euro-threshold. Quite an exceptional market price if you consider the level of mechanical complication involved; albeit a refined one, this is simply a time-only timepiece. This is a price level that, in the world of watch-making, not even ROLEX is sometimes able to achieve!

Quite a bizarre situation if you consider Giovanni's special friendship and relationship with the brand from Geneva (his shop used to be ROLEX's official reseller in Florence) and that the first PANERAI watches were equipped with their Swiss calibers and are now among the top sellers at the most important haute-horlogerie auctions. The Panerai Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Bronze PAM671 marks the debut of the blue dial; a very successful matching with bronze and, in my opinion, superior to that between bronze and a green dial, which we will soon find coupled with steel in three new limited editions I was lucky enough to preview but not to photograph because of an embargo being in place.

The P9010 automatic caliber is well-visible on the case-back side, there are three days of power reserve and the thickness equals 6mm; quite a great achievement for one of the many calibers that have been built in-house in Neûchatel in the last few years. The case is large with its classic 47mm in size as the Submersible case (that has recently been also added with a reduced size to fit smaller and female’s wrists). The blue colour is quite intense; a pantone apparently similar to that of the BMG Tech that we have already written about, albeit with an opaque finish instead of a glossy one.

The only tiny thing I would have avoided is the small date window; I think that a fan of the brand and of its vintage flavour would gladly do without it as I would have done with my reference 424 that I bought in its first version (before that window would be removed altogether, leaving the beautiful California dial in full view). Quick hour setting function and balance-wheel lock function to adjust the time according to a reference hour are part of the standard characteristics of the 9010 caliber features; a best-in class among automatic calibers and a perfect base for other brand complications from this brand. The PANERAI Luminor Submersible 1950 3 Days Bronze PAM671 is released in only 1,000 pieces; stand in line if you want to get one, or get ready to pay a substantial premium price that you can easily verify online. It is unique in its kind and brings with it an aura of legend that, in my eyes, is only second to that of a Mare Nostrum PAM300.